AUSTRALIA-INDIA EDUCATION QUALIFICATION RECOGNITION MECHANISM

Australian Prime Minister announced an ‘Australia-India education qualification recognition mechanism’.

Degrees obtained in Australia will now be recognised in India, and, vice-versa, degrees obtained in India will be recognised in Australia.

The Deakin University:

  • Geelong’s Deakin University will be the first overseas university to open its branch campus in India.
  • Geelong’s Deakin University will be the first ever foreign university to have an offshore campus in India, to be set up in Gandhinagar’s GIFT City.

Maitri scholarship:

  • A new ‘Maitri’ scholarship will be started for Indian students to study in Australia for up to four years.
  • The scholarships are part of the wider Maitri (friendship) programme that seeks to boost cultural, educational and community ties between Australia and India.
  • It will be a $ 11.2 million Maitri Scholarships Program.
  • But the agreement with Australia is broader than the agreement with the US as it includes online courses also.
  • This will not apply to professional qualifications.
  • Professional registrations of engineering, medicine and law graduates will remain outside the ambit of this agreement.
About GIFT city

·        First conceptualised in 2007, the GIFT City is spread over 887 acres in Gandhinagar.

·        It comprises a multi-service Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which houses India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and an exclusive Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).

·        GIFT City is a planned business district and is the new business destination offering competitive edge to financial services and technology-related activities.

India Australia ties:

  • The Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA), the first free trade agreement signed by India with a developed country in a decade entered into force in December 2022.
  • It has resulted in an immediate reduction of duty to zero on 96% of Indian exports to Australia in value (that is 98% of the tariff lines) and zero duty on 85% of Australia’s exports (in value) to India.
  • Bilateral trade was US$ 27.5 billion in 2021 and there is potential for it to reach around US$ 50 billion in five years.
  • India is one of the top sources of skilled immigrants to Australia.
  • As per the 2021 Census, around 9.76 lakh people in Australia reported their ancestry as Indian origin, making them the second largest group of overseas-born residents in Australia.
  • The Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Educational Qualifications (MREQ) was signed recently.
  • This will facilitate mobility of students between India and Australia.
  • The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is held between the two countries.
  • The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) was concluded during the Virtual Summit in 2020.

Military exercises:

  1. Austra-Hind
  2. Malabar exercise which include – Australia, India, Japan, and the US.

Clean energy:

  • The countries signed a Letter of Intent on New and Renewable Energy which provides for cooperation towards bringing down the cost of renewable energy technologies, especially ultra low-cost solar and clean hydrogen.
  • India announced matching funds of AUD 10 million for Pacific Island Countries under Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) and of AUD 10 million for Pacific Island Countries under International Solar Alliance (ISA).

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB

About ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs

Check Also

Forced labour and modern-day slavery

Portable insurance schemes are important, but they are not enough. Workers also need job creation, …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Free Updates to Crack the Exam!
Subscribe to our Newsletter for free daily updates